Whereas, Transplantation holds risks, however tremendous strides have been made in recent years in diagnosis, treatment and prevention of side effects, and bone marrow transplant is no longer a therapy of last resort, but a proven way to cure disease safely; and,

Whereas, Five Michigan medical centers currently perform bone marrow and blood stem cell transplants, saving the lives of hundreds of patients each year; the oldest and largest of these programs is at the University of Michigan Health System in Ann Arbor, which since the late 1980s has performed more than 2,000 transplants, and has guided 234 patients through the transplant process in the year 2002 alone, making this program one of the ten most active in the nation; and,

Whereas, Michigan's health care professionals have made major contributions to make therapies safer and more successful for patients worldwide, through scientific research and clinical innovation; researchers at the U-M Blood and Marrow Transplant Program have won millions of dollars in scientific funding from government and private sources, and are recognized internationally for the strength of their ideas and their efforts to improve transplant care; and,

Whereas, The future holds great promise for the continued growth and success of bone marrow and blood stem cell transplantation because Michigan's institutions are training the health care professionals who will carry the field further; and,

Whereas, More registered donors are needed to provide the bone marrow and blood stem cells that can help patients who possess the same tissue type; four million Americans have already registered as potential bone marrow donors, including many Michigan citizens; and now therefore be it

Resolved, That I, Jennifer M. Granholm, Governor of the State of Michigan, do hereby proclaim April 24, 2003 as Bone Marrow and Blood Stem Cell Transplant Awareness Day in Michigan. I encourage all citizens to actively work to raise their own awareness of the need for increased donor registration, and of the life-saving transplants and transplant research that occur in our state. We also salute Michigan's bone marrow and blood stem cell transplant professionals, donors, patients and their families as they work together to make transplants more effective, safer, and more available to all who might benefit from this therapy.